(JTA) — Billionaire media mogul Michael Bloomberg said he would self-fund a 2020 presidential campaign.
Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York, made the statement Friday to reporters in Texas, where he was on a philanthropic trip, after Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who already has entered the 2020 race with an exploratory committee, called the Democratic presidential nomination “one more plaything that billionaires can buy.”
“In terms of running for office, I ran three times. I used only my own money, so I didn’t have to ask anybody what they wanted in return for a contribution,” he said of his mayoral campaigns. “The public liked that every time they elected me. And if I ran again, I would do the same thing.
“I think not having to adjust what you say and what you work on based on who financed your campaign is one of the things that the public really likes and it’s the right direction to go. I understand not everybody can be self-funded, but those that can I think should.”
Bloomberg, 76, is worth about $44 billion, according to Forbes. He spent about $100 million to help elect Democrats in the midterm elections as the party gained control of the House of Representatives.
A political independent, Bloomberg endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential elections, calling Trump a “risky, reckless and radical choice.” He has criticized the president since his election.
Bloomberg said Friday that he won’t make a decision on a possible run for president for “another month or so.”
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